Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Schaefer Named President

For immediate release: June 4, 2013

Surrey, BC - The Surrey Eagles Hockey Club is happy to announce that Assistant Coach and former NHLer Peter Schaefer has been named the President of the team. Schaefer will work with the Eagles' current staff and be involved in the overseeing of all business operations.

"As an ownership group, we were excited to have Peter as a part of the coaching staff last season," said Eagles majority owner Chuck Westgard. "He showed an interest in having an increased role, and we're extremely pleased that Peter will be taking over the daily operations of the team. We're looking forward to continuing to build a strong tradition with the Eagles, and Peter has become a big part of that with the success the team had last year."

Schaefer, a native of Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan, spent his junior career with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL where he went to two Memorial Cup tournaments and scored 124 goals and 291 points over parts of four seasons. He was drafted 66th overall in the third round of the 1995 draft by the Vancouver Canucks and played 635 games in the NHL, split between Vancouver, Ottawa and Boston. He also spent time playing in Finland, Italy, and most recently Germany where he finished his career at the end of the 2010-2011 season before joining the Eagles' coaching staff in the summer of 2012.

"It was a fun first year in the organization, and I'm looking forward to being more involved with the team," said Schaefer. "I think we have a great opportunity to reach out to the community and have a larger impact off the ice while also improving and growing our hockey club on the ice."

Schaefer will remain behind the bench as an Assistant Coach, but now with the added role of President, he looks forward to working with the team's current sponsors as well as reaching out to new partners.